Page 178 - Nursing: The Philosophy and Science of Caring

a dmi ni st ering sacr e d nu rs i ng a ct s
and metaphoric meanings, is basic for physical and emotional survival
and is considered one of the biophysical needs.
However, rather than develop information about this need, I am
going to explore it from the standpoint of nursing assisting another
in meeting his or her needs. Associated with this need is the art/act,
the sacred act, if you will, of “feeding another human,” metaphori-
cally as well as literally. It is associated with knowing how to give and
receive from another human. Eating behaviors, habits, associations,
food taste, and desires are directly associated with the meanings and
relationships of eating, drinking, and symbolic aspects.
I had a dream not long ago in which I witnessed a nurse going
into a patient’s room, almost throwing a glass of water to the patient
in his bed, then turning around and walking away. The nurse thrust
the glass into the patient’s face, and water spilled all over the patient’s
bedclothes. The nurse ignored the fact that she had done this and just
walked out of the patient’s room.
Rather than hand the patient the water in such a way as to ensure
that he received it, and rather than help him receive the glass of water
or at least assist him after the water had spilled on him, the nurse basi-
cally turned her back on the patient and left him wet and uncared for.
As I witnessed this in my dream, I was astonished at the nurse’s behav-
ior. In the dream I called out to the nurse: “Wait a minute! That is
unacceptable; it is not OK, what just happened. There is a way to give
something to someone in such a way that they can receive it, in con-
trast to just throwing something at someone without any conscious-
ness of how to participate, give, and receive with another.”
This dream was informative in that we sometimes think caring
means letting people get by with uncaring acts, especially in a profes-
sional nursing practice, without confronting and acknowledging the
destructive behavior. Caring does not mean ignoring careless acts or
incompetent behavior. This act in my dream was incompetent as well
as cruel. If one cares authentically, it is not acceptable to allow behavior
that is inappropriate or destructive to go unchallenged or uncorrected.
The second part of the dream, especially with respect to the way
the nurse thrust the water upon the patient, was the other message.
The nurse’s ignorance, lack of mindful consciousness, lack of skill,

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